1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an improved formulation comprising at least one water soluble active ingredient and at least one penetration enhancer. The present disclosure also relates to a use of an improved formulation comprising at least one water soluble active ingredient and at least one penetration enhancer for preventing, combating or controlling pests, particularly insect infestations, by tree injection.
2. Description of Related Art
Formulating certain water soluble active ingredients into suspension concentrate (SC) formulation is known in the art. The SC formulation is, in general, an environmentally friendly formulation, but the water soluble active ingredients in the SC formulation are often unstable and degrade easily. The active ingredients are also often easily aggregated and crystallized. Moreover, the SC formulation is not suitable for tree injection because the needle of injection device (e.g., Arborjet Tree IV™ microinfusion system (Arborjet, Inc. Woburn, Mass.)) and tree vascular system may be blocked by the aggregation of the active ingredients.
The active ingredients in an emulsified concentrate (EC) formulation are often more stable than the active ingredients in the SC formulation. However, a drawback of an injectable EC formulation is that it can be very viscous. The high viscosity of an EC formulation increases the amount of time which is required to inject the formulation into trees. The amount of time it takes to inject an EC formulation into a tree is the determinant factor in how many trees that can be treated in a fixed time period. Moreover, one of the significant costs for treating trees by injection is the labor cost. The longer the formulation takes to inject into a tree, the higher the labor cost. In addition, the high viscosity of the EC formulation makes it more likely to stick to, leave residues on, and clog injection equipment. Additional work including cleaning and frequent fixing the equipment is thus needed. The additional work further increases the labor cost and is time consuming.
Accordingly, there is a need for a stable, and residue-free formulation that provides faster uptake in trees without aggregation, for controlling pests, particularly for controlling insect infestation.
We have surprisingly found that the SL formulation of the present disclosure is extremely stable, residue-free and has a quicker uptake by tree and distribution throughout the plant and/or plant parts than other formulations, without aggregation.